Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Skipping Breakfast Impacts Girls More

We have all heard it before- breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Researchers studied 32 schools in the U.K. to compare the academic performance
of 1,386 students (ages 6-16) on their attention while using the Internet,
reaction time as well as memory. On the day of a test, a higher percentage of
girls did not eat breakfast, 7.6% of girls and 5.6% of boys. Students who did
not have breakfast had had 7% lower attention span, recognized 9% fewer images
correctly, and were overall more inconsistent than those who ate breakfast.
Observations and test results discovered that girls who skipped breakfast were
significantly less focused and disordered than boys who didn’t have breakfast.
Skipping breakfast before going to school greatly decreased students’ accuracy
and speed on memory and cognitive ability tests in comparison to the students
who ate breakfast. Unless you want to have poor academic performance in school
or at work, make sure you make time for breakfast!

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Changes Taking Place for Dietetics at AU

As the recent post mentioned, the AU Dietetics Program will be moving out of the Department of FCS to form the new Department of Health Sciences along with Athletic Training and Exercise Sciences within the Shar College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Change is never easy, and much time has been dedicated to this decision and evaluating the subsequent impacts that this move will have on all those concerned.
Overall, this realignment will increase the visibility of the Dietetics Major to the community and prospective students. Logically, it is easier for students to associate Dietetics with other health care majors than with those majors within FCS. The historical placement of nutrition and in some cases Dietetics, within the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences remains at some institutions, but the trend is to move this major to a more appropriate placement along side other health-related areas of study. While the historical perspective should be acknowledged and appreciated, it should never limit the vision towards the future. Without vision and change, the continual growth, development, and evolution of this program would not be able to reach its fulliest potential. As previously stated, change and growth are seldom easy, but without them, proactive steps become reactive, which is not a beneficial strategy when moving forward towards the future, for if you are not moving forward, you are falling behind. Dr. V.

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Managing Food Allergies

Have you or a family member been diagnosed with a food allergy? Or perhaps you have a guest visiting your home with a food allergy? One important step to remember in managing food allergies is to avoid cross-contact.

Cross-contact occurs when one food comes into contact with another food and their proteins mix. As a result, each food then contains small amounts of the other food that are often invisible to us. Even a trace of food on a spoon or spatula that is invisible to us can cause an allergic reaction.

When cooking allergen-free meals, use utensils and pans that have been thoroughly washed with soap and water. If cooking several foods at the same time, cook the allergen-free meal first, then keep it covered and away from any splatter caused by other foods that are cooking. If you have handled an allergy-causing food, wash your hands with soap and warm water before serving the allergen-free meal.